An exhaust system, which has an exhaust line, which has an exhaust gas-carrying exhaust pipe, is known from DE 10 2011 089 774 A1. Further, an active muffler is provided, which has a muffler housing and an electroacoustic converter arranged in the muffler housing. Finally, a connection pipe is provided, whose pipe wall envelops a connection space leading from the muffler housing to the exhaust system and which is fluidically connected to the muffler housing as well as to the exhaust system. The converter, which is preferably a loudspeaker, is exposed in the housing to a front volume, which is fluidically coupled via the connection pipe with the interior space of the exhaust system. Sound generated by the converter can be introduced in this manner during the operation of the active muffler into the front volume, so that the sound can be introduced by the front volume through the connection pipe into the exhaust system. However, this also means during the operation of the exhaust system that hot exhaust gases can enter the front volume and hence the converter from the exhaust system through the connection pipe. As a result, the converter is exposed to a comparatively high thermal load.
To reduce the thermal load of the converter and of the entire active muffler, diaphragm elements may be arranged in the connection pipe in the exhaust system known from the above-mentioned DE 10 2011 089 774 A1 such that the connection pipe remains permeable, on the one hand, for airborne sound, while it becomes opaque in the direction of view extending parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the connection pipe. As a result, heat radiation cannot reach the front volume or the converter directly through the connection pipe from the interior of the exhaust pipe. However, such diaphragm elements arranged in an opaque manner hinder the direct transmission of airborne sound from the front volume of the converter through the connection pipe into the exhaust pipe, as a result of which the acoustic efficiency of the active muffler is reduced. Moreover, a section of the connection pipe, which is equipped with the diaphragm elements, may be designed as a cooling body in order to remove heat in this manner from the exhaust gas in order to reduce the thermal load of the active muffler and especially of the converter.